Step One : Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan, brown the pancetta, remove and set aside. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic and bay leaves, then cook over a low heat until the onion is soft and glassy, but not coloured. Add the fresh mushrooms and stir well until they begin to soften.

Step Two : Remove the porcini and chop, reserving the soaking juice. Return porcini to the pan with lentils; stir. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add pancetta, tomato puree, wine and soy sauce.

Step Three : Turn up the heat and, once the red wine has almost evaporated, pour in the reserved porcini mushroom liquid, taking care not to let the gritty bits fall into the pot. Add the stock. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked but not too soft. Stir in the cavolo nero, five minutes before the end of cooking. Stir well, ladle into bowls and scatter over parsley and grated Pecorino cheese.

Step One – In a large frying pan, melt fat with oil. Add the chicken breasts and fry for 7-8 mins, or until browned all over. Using a slotted spoon, remove chicken and drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Place in an ovenproof casserole dish and set aside.
Step Two – Preheat oven to Gas 5, 375oF, 190oC. Using the same frying pan, fry the onion, celery, garlic, pancetta ham or bacon, and mushrooms for 3-4 mins, or until just softened. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mixture to the casserole dish.
Step Three – Place the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, dried oregano, salt and black pepper in a large saucepan. Pour the dry white wine into the saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the tomato and wine sauce to the chicken mixture in the casserole dish.
Step Four – Mix well, then cover dish and cook in oven for 50 mins, or until the chicken is tender. Remove casserole from the oven and stir in the olives. Return to the oven and cook, uncovered, for a further 10 mins. Serve with warm ciabatta bread and a dry white wine.

Step One: For the pizza base, mix the sorghum flour, yeast and 120g tepid water in a bowl until smooth, then cover. Set aside at room temperature for an hour to ferment.

Step Two: For the tomato sauce, chop the tomatoes and put in a pan with the juice from the tin. Add the garlic and cook, covered, over a medium heat, for 10 minutes. Stir in the olive oil, a couple of pinches of salt, a few good grinds of pepper, a pinch of sugar and a little vinegar if you think the flavour needs lifting. The oil will take a bit of stirring to get it to emulsify with the tomato. If the sauce is too thin, cook uncovered for a few minutes. Set aside to cool.

Step Three: When you are ready to make the dough, beat the remaining pizza base ingredients, except the polenta or rice flour, into the sorghum mixture, until smooth.

Step Four: Sprinkle flat baking sheets and work-surface with fine polenta or rice flour. Scoop up a quarter of the dough with floured fingers, roll into a ball, then roll out on your floured surface into a thin circle, about 5mm thick. Pick up an edge gently and slide a floured rolling pin underneath to help you transfer the delicate dough to the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Step Five: Spread the sauce between the pizzas using the back of a spoon. Slice mozzarella and lay on top. Sprinkle with thyme or oregano and drizzle any exposed dough with a little olive oil. Leave to rise at room temperature for about 1 hour, until the dough looks puffy. Preheat the oven to 250oC /Fan 230oC/Gas 10, or as high as it will go and bake for 6-8 minutes. Add rocket and Parmesan, and serve.

* Heat the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3-5 mins or until softened. Stir in bacon and mushrooms and cook for 5 mins.
* Stir in the tomato puree, passata, wine vinegar, capers and sugar. Season the mixture generously with fresh ground black pepper, then simmer for 5 mins.
* Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add taleteller and cook for 5 mins, or until al dente. Drain well, then toss with oregano and bacon sauce.
TIP: For extra flavour add a vegetable or chicken stock cube to the water while cooking pasta.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry thinly and sprinkle the Parmesan Cheese over the top. Roll over the pastry with a rolling pin to press the cheese into the pastry. Use the pastry to line a 23cm (9in) fluted flan tin then prick all over with a fork.

Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans (or dried pulses). Bake blind at 200oC, 400oF, Gas 6 for 20 mins. Remove the lining and the beans and bake for a further 5-10 mins until the pastry case is crisp and golden. Leave to cool.

Fill the cooled pastry case with the strips of Parma ham, tomato wedges and pine nuts. Drizzle with 30ml (2tblsp) of the olive oil and place under a pre-heated moderate grill for 5-10 mins until the tomatoes begin to soften slightly.

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the garlic and courgettes until tender. Add the white wine vinegar and chopped basil and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until all the excess moisture has evaporated. Remove from the heat.
2. Make up pizza dough according to the instructions. Divide into four and roll into circles measuring 15cm (6in) in diameter.
3. Preheat the oven to Mark 6 (200oC/400oF). Place the courgette mixture on half of each base. Top with 175g (6oz) bacon and gruyere cheese. Wet the edge of the base with water, fold over and seal together.
4. Place on a greased baking tray and cover with greased clingfilm. Leave in a warm place for 20-30 minutes to prove.
5. Cook for 10 minutes and remove from the oven. Place the remaining bacon on top of each calzone. Return to the oven and cook for 5 minutes until piping hot and golden brown.

Like this:

This delicious, indulgent, baked cheesecake is made with the same wicked ingredients as the creamy italian dessert tiramisu – almond-flavoured biscuits, plain chocolate, rich mascarpone cheese and coffee.

To make base, roughly crush the biscuits and cookies, and place in a bowl. Melt butter, stir in and mix well. Spoon into th base of a greased 23cm (9in) springform tin and press down evenly with a potato masher. Chill in the fridge.

To make the filling, place the mascarpone cheese in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until soft. Beat in the caster sugar and cornflour, then gradually beat in the eggs to make a smooth mixture. Fold in the coffee liqueur or coffee essence.

Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Leave until just melted, then stir. Remove from heat and cool for 10 mins. Gently fold the melted chocolate into the mascarpone mixture.

Pour mixture over biscuit base. Place the tin on a baking sheet and bake at 170oC, 325oF, Gas 3 for 1 hr 10 mins until set. Cool (see tip). For topping, gentle swirl cream over the cheesecake. Top with chocolate curls and dust with cocoa powder.

TIP: When the cheesecake is cooked, leave it to cool slowly insdie the turned-off oven – then will help to prevent the surface from cracking.

Preheat oven to Mark 5 / 375oF / 190oC. Remove skin from the chicken. Season flour and use to coat the chicken.

Heat oil in a large flameproof casserole. Add onion and garlic and fry for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. Stir in the mushrooms, oregano, capers, olives, wine, stock and tomato puree. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cover. Cook for 30 mins.

Remove from oven and stir in tomatoes and anchovy fillets. Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Serve garnished with oregano.

Cook the dried pasta, adding the pieces one by one to boiling water to which you have added salt and 1 tbsp of oil, to prevent the lasagne sticking together. Allow 8-10 minutes for it to cook. Carefully remove the pasta and then pat dry on clean tea towels.

To make the spinach balls: cook the spinach in a little water until tender, drain well and chop finely. Mix the spinach with 1 tbsp beaten egg, the dried breadcrumbs and 1oz/25g of the Parmesan cheese. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, shape spinach mixture into walnut-sized balls. Heat oil to deep fry spinach balls, until lightly browned on all sides. remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels.

To prepare the aubergines, put half of the other 2 beaten eggs in a dish. Dip the aubergine slices into the flavour and then into the beaten egg. Heat enough oil to deep fry the aubergine, until golden. remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels.

Prepare the courgettes in the same way as the aubergines, dipping them into the flour and the beaten egg, then deep frying them. then set them aside on paper towels.

To prepare the mushrooms, heat 1 tbsp oil in a separate frying pan, add the mushroom slices and fry briefly. Sitr in the garlic and parsley, with salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble the lasagne, put 3-4 tbsp tomato sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish. cover with a layer of pasta. Next add a layer each of the mushrooms, the courgettes, aubergine and spinach balls. Add some of the fontina cheese. Now add 3-4 tbsp of tomato sauce, 3-4 tbsp of the beaten eggs and a generous sprinkling of the remaining Parmesan cheese.

Staring with a layer of pasta, repeat the sequence of layers until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of vegetables.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then cut into portions and serve.

Tip: You can prepare this dish up until the point when it’s ready to go into the oven. Store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then bake when required.